PACDC Executive Director Rick Sauer at 2015 gala

The Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations’ (PACDC) annual magazine is both an overview of trends in the community development sector and a vehicle for promoting the organizations and individuals that comprise it.

The 2015 issue, released last week, focuses on the issues of equity and race and how they intersect with the work being done by CDCs from Chinatown to Olney. Dr. Bernard Anderson, senior advisor at the research firm Econsult, wrote about racial housing segregation Philadelphia and some of the early efforts to curb it.

Peter Gonzales, president of the Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians, looked at the issue of immigration, writing about how newcomers enliven old neighborhoods and what CDCs can do aid with immigrant integration and economic growth.

The issue also includes profiles of the winners of PACDC’s Blue Ribbon Awards, which are given out annually to outstanding organizations and individuals in the CDC sector. The winners were chosen based on excellence in the following areas: innovation, impact, leadership and advance equity.

The winners were announced at a gala held by PACDC last Thursday, April 23:

• Best Large CDC: Impact Services
• Best Small CDC: Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation
• Finalist: Community Ventures
• Finalist: People’s Emergency Center

• Lifetime Achievement Award: Deborah McColloch, director of the City’s Office of Housing and Community Development
• Community Development Champion: Dr. Theresa Singleton, vice president of community development studies and education at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
• Community Leader Award: Joyce Smith, Viola Street Residents Association
• Rising Star Award: Philip Green, North Fifth Street Revitalization Project

The full magazine is available in PDF form.

Photo via Stephen Ladner